Hussain and Thorpe half-centuries boost England

Nasser Hussain took inspiration from his trustworthy batting partner and
best mate Graham Thorpe when he made a half-century in the First npower Test
match against Pakistan at Lord's.

The England captain has been in the batting doldrums since he took over as
captain two years ago but his unbeaten 53 was his highest Test score at home
since 1999 when he made 61 against New Zealand, also at Lord's.

It signalled a welcome return to form for Hussain who dropped himself down
the order to improve his and England's batting performances for this match.
But while he showed traces of anxiety throughout his 156-ball innings,
Thorpe displayed a sure-footed mastery at the other end with a stream of
superbly timed shots all round the wicket.

When he reached his half-century, he had struck the boundary seven times,
forever splicing a carefully set field with an array of late cuts and lusty
drives, all of them typical of the class Thorpe has continually shown since
he returned to international cricket last summer following a winter off.

An hour later, it was Hussain's turn to raise his bat, having been at the
crease for more than two and a half hours. Six of the 146 balls he faced
were despatched for four though few were timed with the same perfection as
his England colleague.

The pair put on 132 but just four overs from the end, Thorpe succumbed to a
trap that had been set earlier by Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis, who sent
two fielders down to long leg to snatch a mistimed hook.

It was exactly that shot that saw Thorpe's innings thwarted just as it was
beginning to look like a potential match-winner. With 80 on the board, he
was caught by Abdul Razzaq off Waqar's bowling after staying with Hussain
for a little over three hours.

The Surrey batsman looked displeased as he wandered off the field in the
fading light but he knew he had missed out on his first chance of the summer
to post a painless century.

He was replaced by nightwatchman Ryan Sidebottom, making his England debut
in a high pressure situation with the score 246 for four. After a winter
holding up the England A tail in the West Indies, he responded with a
composure that surprised many watching the Yorkshireman for the first time.

By the close he and Hussain had added eight runs to the England total taking
it to 254 for four. Two of the wickets went to swing bowler Azhar Mahmood
who finished with 18-10-29-2 but the second day belonged to England who
fared well in the bowler friendly conditions.

Earlier their innings had got off to a promising start with a resilient opening stand of 60 between Michael Atherton and Marcus Trescothick.

After a successful winter forging strong opening partnerships, Trescothick
and Atherton got together for the first time this season when Waqar Younis won the toss and decided to give his pace attack, including Shoaib Akhtar, the best of the overcast conditions over London.

Shoaib last played Test cricket in March 2000 and, arriving in the UK a week
later than the rest of the Pakistan team due to illness, his fitness levels
were said to be well short of the required standard.

But on the Lord's track, which on a damp May morning was never likely to
favour the spinners, a half-fit seamer was deemed a better option than the
fully fit Saqlain Mushtaq.

The 'Rawalpindi Express' came on to bowl in the tenth over of the morning,
but by then England's openers had seen off the worst of the new ball from
Waqar and Wasim Akram and had moved the total to 39 without loss.

Shoaib delivered his first ball at 87 mph but it was not enough to create a
sensation and after three overs he was taken off, having conceded six runs.

Despite being the most in-form batsman in the country with three B&H
centuries and one CricInfo Championship ton in the bag already this season, the
Somerset left-hander started tentatively, playing and missing to Waqar.

He gradually gained confidence and reached 36, having struck three
boundaries before being surprised by a slower ball in Abdul Razzaq's third
over, being caught at gully by Azhar.

Coming on to bowl immediately after lunch, Azhar swung the ball both ways to
pick up the wickets of firstly Michael Vaughan and then Atherton in
the space of 18 balls.

Vaughan walked when he was well caught down the leg side by wicket-keeper
Rashid Latif trying to glance Azhar down to fine leg. He had made a rapid 32
from 55 balls, and sent a leg break from spinner Younis Khan hurtling over
the mid-wicket boundary into the Tavern Stand crowd.

Three overs later, Azhar seized the wicket Pakistan had been hankering after
since play commenced this morning and having faced 122 balls, Atherton was
bowled by a ball that swung into the leg stump for 42.